1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquefied raw garbage collection method and system, and more particularly, to a liquefied raw garbage collection method and system whereby collection of liquefied raw garbage can be performed efficiently by touring collection vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, collection of raw garbage is performed by a method wherein the date or day of the week on which a raw garbage collection vehicle tours around garbage collection points, is determined, and each household is requested to place their raw garbage at a predetermined collection point, early on the day on which the raw garbage collection vehicle passes by, for example. There is also another method wherein raw garbage is collected by previously arranged by telephone or the like so that the collection vehicle is requested to pass by a prescribed point at a prescribed date and time.
However, in methods where raw garbage is placed directly at garbage collection points, problems arise in that the garbage may be attacked by cats, crows, or the like, or it may produce unpleasant odours, before the collection vehicle arrives at the garbage collection point.
Therefore, in order to prevent the raw garbage from being attacked by cats, crows, etc., it is necessary to take measures such as providing a raw garbage collection container at the garbage collection point, placing a net over the garbage bags or the like.
However, in conventional methods using containers, nets and the like, such situations may sometimes occur that the quantity of raw garbage exceeds the storage capacity of the containers, or the generation of unpleasant odours cannot sufficiently suppressed. Hence, it causes problems to determine where garbage collection points are located because hygiene-related problems may occur in the neighborhood of the collection points.
Furthermore, if a large amount of raw garbage happens to be produced by household, then it must either request a another visit of the raw garbage collection vehicle, or the garbage must be stored in the household until the collection vehicle visits next time.
Since raw garbage will decompose with the passage of time, if the raw garbage is stored inside the household, problems arise with regard to hygiene, for instance, unpleasant odours are produced.
To solve the problems, a raw garbage collection system has been proposed, wherein raw garbage liquefying apparatuses are provided in distributed locations adjacent to respective households or the like, and the raw garbage liquefied by the raw garbage liquefying apparatus is collected and stored in highly sealed liquefied raw garbage storage tanks. Then, the liquefied raw garbage deposited in the liquefied raw garbage storage tanks is recovered periodically by touring collection vehicles, whereby raw garbage can be collected without dispersing unpleasant smells into the surrounding area.
By means of this raw garbage collection system, it is possible to place raw garbage into a raw garbage liquefying apparatus at any time, and hence generation of unpleasant odours due to decomposition of the raw garbage can be prevented, thereby providing a significant merits in terms of hygiene.
However, in the aforementioned raw garbage collection system, collection must be performed without fail before the amount of liquefied raw garbage accumulated inside the liquefied raw garbage storage tank of the raw garbage liquefying device exceeds the permitted amount.
If, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the touring collection vehicle 6 visits every raw garbage liquefying devices 8 which need liquefied raw garbage to be collected therefrom and every raw garbage liquefying device 9 which do not need liquefied raw garbage to be collected therefrom, then it will make unnecessary collections, which is inefficient.
Moreover, since the touring collection vehicle 6 passes along the touring route a large number of times, the distance travelled by the collection vehicle is long, and the fuel consumed by the touring vehicles increases, thereby not only causing costs to increase, but also raising the amount of exhaust gas generated, which has a detrimental effect on the environment in addition to the economic aspects.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquefied raw garbage collection method and system whereby touring collection vehicles can collect liquefied raw garbage from the liquefied raw garbage accumulation tanks of raw garbage liquefying devices situated in a plurality of dispersed locations in an efficient manner.
The liquefied raw garbage collection method according to the present invention is a liquefied raw garbage collection method wherein the liquefied raw garbage accumulated respectively in a plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices situated in a plurality of distributed locations is collected by means of a plurality of touring collection vehicles; the accumulation state of the liquefied raw garbage in each of the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices being monitored by a central station by exchanging information between the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices and the central station; and the central station issuing collection instructions for the liquefied raw garbage from the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices, to the plurality of touring collection vehicles, on the basis of the results of the monitoring.
With this configuration, it is possible to dispatch touring collection vehicles only to those raw garbage liquefying devices which require collection of liquefied raw garbage, and hence highly efficient raw garbage collection can be achieved.
Here, it is possible to adopt a configuration wherein the central station confirms the respective current positions of the plurality of touring collection vehicles by exchanging information through radio communications with the plurality of touring collection vehicle; and issues collection instructions for the liquefied raw garbage from the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices to the plurality of touring collection vehicles, on the basis of the respective current positions of the plurality of touring collection vehicles thus confirmed.
With this configuration, it is possible to issue a collection instruction to a touring collection vehicle that is near a raw garbage liquefying device from which liquefied raw garbage is to be collected, and hence fuel consumption and the time required for touring collection can be reduced.
Furthermore, it is also possible for the central station to confirm the respective current liquefied raw garbage collected amounts of the plurality of touring collection vehicles by exchanging information through radio communications with the plurality of touring collection vehicle; and to issue collection instructions for the liquefied raw garbage from the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices to the plurality of touring collection vehicles, on the basis of the respective current liquefied raw garbage collected amounts of the plurality of touring collection vehicles thus confirmed.
With this configuration, it is possible to issue a collection instruction to a touring collection vehicle which is situated near to a raw garbage liquefying device requiring collection and which is capable of collecting the whole amount of liquefied raw garbage accumulated therein.
Moreover, it is also possible to collect the whole amount of liquefied raw garbage by issuing collection instructions to a plurality of touring collection vehicles located near to the raw garbage liquefying device requiring collection.
Furthermore, it is also possible to adopt a configuration wherein the raw garbage liquefying devices comprise liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount detecting means for detecting the current accumulated amount of liquefied raw garbage in the raw garbage liquefying device, the liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount detected by the liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount detecting means being notified to the central station at prescribed intervals.
With this configuration, the central station is able to manage, with good accuracy, the amount of liquefied raw garbage accumulated in each of the raw garbage liquefying devices.
Moreover, since the liquefied raw garbage accumulated amounts are updated at regular intervals, omissions in the accumulated amounts can be prevented.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration wherein the raw garbage liquefying devices comprise liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount detecting means for detecting the current accumulated amount of liquefied raw garbage in the raw garbage liquefying device, the liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount detected by the liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount detecting means being notified to the central station on the basis of requests from the central station.
With this configuration, the central station is able to ascertain the liquefied raw garbage amounts currently accumulated in the raw garbage liquefying devices, accurately and in real time.
Furthermore, it is also possible to adopt a configuration wherein the touring collection vehicles comprise position detecting means for detecting the current position of the touring collection vehicle, and liquefied raw garbage collection amount detecting means for detecting the current collected amount of liquefied raw garbage therein, the current position of the touring collection vehicle as detected by the position detecting means and the current liquefied raw garbage collected amount as detected by the liquefied raw garbage collected amount detecting means being notified to the central station at prescribed intervals.
With this configuration, the central station is able to manage the positions and liquefied raw garbage collected amounts of the touring collection vehicles.
Furthermore, collection instructions can be issued to touring collection vehicles situated near the raw garbage liquefying devices to be collected from, and capable of collecting the full amount of accumulated liquefied raw garbage therein.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration wherein the touring collection vehicles comprise position detecting means for detecting the current position of the touring collection vehicle, and liquefied raw garbage collection amount detecting means for detecting the current collected amount of liquefied raw garbage therein, the current position of the touring collection vehicle as detected by the position detecting means and the current liquefied raw garbage collected amount as detected by the liquefied raw garbage collected amount detecting means being notified to the central station on the basis of requests from the central station.
With this configuration, the central station is able to ascertain accurately the current position and liquefied raw garbage collected amount of the touring collection vehicles.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration wherein the central station: gathers the respective liquefied raw garbage accumulated amounts of the raw garbage liquefying devices by exchanging information through radio communications with the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices, establishes a visit plan for the plurality of touring collection vehicles on the basis of the gathered results, and issues collection instructions for the liquefied raw garbage from the raw garbage liquefying devices, to the touring collection vehicles, on the basis of the visit plan.
With this configuration, since the central station establishes a visit plan and issues instructions to the touring collection vehicles, it is possible to cause only raw garbage liquefying devices which require collection of liquefied raw garbage to be visited, by means of the shortest possible distance.
Moreover, in a case where the tank of a touring collection vehicle is virtually full of liquefied raw garbage, the raw garbage liquefying devices may be indicated to the vehicle in such a manner that it ends its touring collection, thereby achieving further increases in efficiency.
Furthermore, it is also possible to adopt a configuration wherein the central station: gathers operational status data for the raw garbage liquefying devices by exchanging information through radio communications with the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices, and loads the operational status data to a homepage; identifies a user having accessed the home page via the Internet, by means of an ID and password; and supplies the operational status data for the raw garbage liquefying devices to a user for whom the ID and password are correct.
With this configuration, a user can ascertain the operational states of the raw garbage liquefying devices from a remote location, by means of an Internet connection, and hence extremely flexible and highly efficient gathering of raw garbage can be achieved.
With this configuration, the liquefied raw garbage collection system according to the present invention is a liquefied raw garbage collection system wherein the liquefied raw garbage accumulated respectively in a plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices situated in a plurality of distributed locations is collected by means of a plurality of touring collection vehicles; comprising a central station for exchanging information through radio communications with the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices; the central station being provided with: liquefied raw garbage accumulation state monitoring means for monitoring the accumulation state of the liquefied raw garbage in each of the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices, on the basis of exchanging information with the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices; and collection instruction issuing means for issuing collection instructions for the liquefied raw garbage from the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices, through radio communications, to the plurality of touring collection vehicles, on the basis of the results of the monitoring performed by the liquefied raw garbage accumulation state monitoring means.
Therefore, the amount of liquefied raw garbage in the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices can be managed and only raw garbage liquefying devices requiring collection of liquefied raw garbage are selected and indicated to the touring collection vehicles for collection, thereby making it possible to reduce the amount of fuel consumed by the touring collection vehicles and the time required for the touring collection.
Here, it is possible to adopt a configuration wherein the exchanging of information between the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices and the central station is carried out by packet transmission on the basis of instructions from the raw garbage liquefying devices or from the central station, and by so doing, it is possible to make very efficient use of a communications network for exchanging information.
Furthermore, a configuration may also be adopted wherein the raw garbage liquefying devices comprise: liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount detecting means for detecting the current liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount thereof; and notifying means for notifying the liquefied raw garbage accumulation data thus detected by the liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount detecting means, to the central station, at prescribed intervals or upon the request of the central station.
This configuration enables the central station to manage the amounts of liquefied raw garbage accumulated in the raw garbage liquefying devices, in an accurate manner.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration wherein the touring collection vehicles comprise: position detecting means for detecting the current position of the touring collection vehicle; liquefied raw garbage collected amount detecting means for detecting the current liquefied raw garbage collected amount of the touring collection vehicle; and notifying means for notifying the current position of the touring collection vehicle as detected by the position detecting means and the current liquefied raw garbage collected amount as detected by the liquefied raw garbage collected amount detecting means, to the central station, at prescribed intervals or upon requests from the central station.
With this configuration, the central station is able to manage the position and liquefied raw garbage collected amount of the touring collection vehicles, in an accurate manner, and can also ascertain, in an accurate manner, the amount of liquefied raw garbage that can be collected by each touring collection vehicle.
A configuration may also be adopted wherein the notifying means notifies the current position of the touring collection vehicle as detected by the position detecting means and the current liquefied raw garbage collected amount as detected by the liquefied raw garbage collected amount detecting means, by packet transmission on the basis of instructions from the touring collection vehicle or the central station, and by so doing, it is possible to make very efficient use of a communications network for exchanging information.
Moreover, it is also possible to adopt a configuration wherein the central station comprises: liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount gathering means for gathering the liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount of each of the raw garbage liquefying devices, by exchanging information through radio communications with the plurality of raw garbage liquefying devices; touring collection vehicle information gathering means for gathering the respective position and liquefied raw garbage collected amount of the touring collection vehicles, by exchanging information through radio communications with the plurality of touring collection vehicles; and visit plan creating means for creating a visit plan for the plurality of touring collection vehicles on the basis of the results gathered by the liquefied raw garbage accumulated amount gathering means and the touring collection vehicle information gathering means; the collection instruction issuing means issuing collection instructions for the liquefied raw garbage from the raw garbage liquefying devices to the touring collection vehicles, on the basis of a visit plan created by the visit plan creating means.
In this case, the central station is able to issue a collection instruction to a touring collection vehicle which is situated near a raw garbage liquefying device requiring collection and which is capable of collecting the full amount of accumulated liquefied raw garbage therein.
Moreover, the full amount of accumulated liquefied raw garbage can be collected by issuing collection instructions to a plurality of touring collection vehicles situated near a raw garbage liquefying device requiring collection.
Furthermore, by issuing a collection instruction for a raw garbage liquefying device having an accumulated amount of raw garbage which will practically fill the tank of a touring collection vehicle, the tank of the touring collection vehicle is caused to assume a practically full state, and hence the touring collection thereof can be ended.
According to the present invention, by exchanging information between respective raw garbage liquefying devices and a central station, by means of radio communications devices, it is possible to ascertain, accurately, at the central station, the amount of liquefied raw garbage accumulated in each of the respective raw garbage liquefying devices, and hence the number of visits made by touring collection vehicles can be minimised.
Furthermore, it is also possible to ascertain, accurately, at the central station, the position of each touring collection vehicle and the amount of liquefied raw garbage that can be loaded into same, thereby permitting efficient dispatching of vehicles.
Moreover, since the central station can be accessed from a source external to the central station, it is possible to ascertain the liquefied raw garbage accumulated amounts and operational statuses of the raw garbage liquefying devices in real time, from a remote location, by means of the central station.
Yet further, according to the present invention, since information is exchanged between the raw garbage liquefying devices and the central station by means of radio communications, then management can be performed readily, even in the case of raw garbage liquefying devices situated in locations where telephone lines, or the like, are difficult to provide.